A/N: This chapter contains a song. Sorry about that. It's italicized for easy skipping if it's not your cup of tea.

I hop into Jade's car after hurriedly changing and ditching the meet and greet. It's the closest car and I don't have a driver's license, so… "Okay Jade, where should we go?"

"I don't know Walter. Where can we get along peacefully while we hide out for several hours?"

"Why'd you call me Walter. I mean, I guess it's a nice variation from Vega, but still."

"You have your mustache on."

I wait a beat. "I'm keeping it." Jade starts cracking up. "The only places I've known us to get along are this car and Nozu."

"Well I'm hungry. So Nozu."

I was making a joke, but what Jade wants, Jade gets. At least when I have a say in it.

We get to Nozu and she sits down and orders. I need a bit for my stomach to want anything after the exhilaration of acting (and falling into Jade's chest), so I decide to sing. I pick another Lauren Hoffman song, because I want to say it to her and I figure it's becoming somewhat of an inside joke.

"When you really know how beautiful you are" I see her snort a little, but her mouth is full of Ancient Japanese Secret.
"You can rest inside that space
relax and radiate
flood the world in silence with your grace.
When you really know how beautiful you are
the voice of love inside so loud
you'll forget to be so proud
nothing more to prove to the restless crowd.
I see you as a diamond in a shadow
blind to your own light.
Well you don't have to believe in the sun;
you don't have to prove the moon.
Let yourself shine,
Beauty, I see you.
When you really know how beautiful you are
you'll see yourself in everything
in waterfalls, in fools and kings
and God will shine upon us when you sing.
But if you never know how beautiful you are
I will know it for you
I will see the truth
And love the light that shines behind the clouds you can't break through.
I see you as a diamond in a shadow
blind to your own light.
Well you don't have to believe in the sun;
you don't have to prove the moon.
Let yourself shine,
Beauty, I see you.
Let yourself shine,
Beauty, I see you.
Let yourself shine,
Beauty, I see you."

When I get back to the counter, Jade is practically wolfing down the rice. Well, eating it as fast as she can with her meager chopstick skills. Once she finishes her mouthful, she looks up at me and says, "I guess her songs kinda benefit from the full on singing approach." I guess that's her way of complimenting my singing. I start to smile, then my expression turns to terror as I see Chad and his stupid friend walking up behind her. I motion behind her with my lips. She looks really confused. Shoot. I forgot people only point with their lips in Latin America. I love my grandma oh right Chad and Chad's worse half. I try to motion with my eye, but that just fails. I don't want to point, so I just tell her "The doctor's back." I'm so telling them my dad's a cop.

"Crap."

"So, we heard from the creepy kid with the curly hair you were on a fake date for your class. You guys are really good actors to pretend you were on a date and didn't like us." Chad's taller, more annoying companion states.

Jade jumps in, "Yeah, well we're a little closeted. You were the first people we told our age. Only our parents know."

"My dad's a cop!" Jade gives me a bit of a shut up glare for that, but goes with it.

"Yeah, and mine's a lawyer. Together they can give you a restraining order or sue you for hate crimes if you take it further than how much you've been annoying us."

Chad says, "Fine, we'll go, but I still don't believe a girl that pretty could be into girls."

I hear Jade mutter, "That's the last straw," before she latches onto my mouth, and a second in, moans. God either really hates me or really loves me today. I smile into the kiss, and put out a bit of a moan for good show. Then she pulls away and says, "I don't believe that a girl with any intelligence would take a kiss with a guy over that. Looks like gay relationships might actually threaten your love life. And I thought it was just stupid propaganda."

Jade's really having a field day with these idiots, and I want in, now that I've recovered from that kiss. "Sure maybe a decent guy could compare with a girl, but certainly not you two. Maybe you should just date each other. You seem to have matching asshole personalities, I'm sure it would work out perfectly."

And the first intelligent comeback they have the whole night, "I guess that's why it works so well between you two." Then they have the good sense to leave while they're not as far behind as they were.

"Damn, Vega, I didn't know you could insult people like that. I thought the other night was a fluke." She smiles a bit of an evil smile at me, clearly entertained by their bruised egos.

"I may be perky in the morning, but I really wake up at nine at night. I tend to get better at everything at night." I say the second part a little more suggestively than I'd planned, but I'm trying to win Jade over anyway, so it doesn't matter much.

Jade sputters a little at that though, then asks if I want a ride home. I say yes, and she tells me to get a driver's license, gets up, and walks away. My face starts to fall then she turns around with her evil grin again and pulls me out of my seat. Apparently she paid when she got her food.